Onyx Posts Positive Results For New Cancer Drug

EMERYVILLE, Calif. -- Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Monday reported
positive clinical trial results for its cancer drug candidate,
saying it worked for some multiple myeloma patients who have seen
other therapies fail.

Onyx tested carfilzomib on 266 patients in the mid-stage
clinical trial. Each of the patients had multiple myeloma, a cancer
of the blood, and all of them had been treated with at least two
previous regimens. Onyx said 36 percent of the patients saw tumors
shrink, and 24 percent had at least a partial response to the drug,
meaning their tumors shrank at least 30 percent.

Onyx plans to present full results from the trial at a future
scientific conference. The company announced on Wednesday that it
had started a late-stage trial of carfilzomib, and it plans to file
for Food and Drug Administration marketing approval by the end of
2010.

The drug maker said patients in the trial had been treated with
other therapies including thalidomide and Johnson &
Johnson’s drug Velcade. But the patients had experienced
little tumor shrinkage, or had their tumors progress during
treatment or within 60 days of the end of their most recent round
of treatment.

In another recent study of carfilzomib, the most common side
effects included pneumonia, anemia, and two blood disorders:
neutropenia, a decrease in a type of white blood cell, and
thrombocytopenia, or low levels of blood platelets, which can make
clotting difficult.

Onyx gets most of its revenue from Nexavar, a kidney and liver
cancer drug that is sold by Bayer HealthCare. Onyx acquired
carfilzomib last year when it bought Proteolix Inc., which
discovered the drug.

Nexavar is also being tested as a treatment for several other
cancers.